Doll eye support



NOV. 25, 1952 CANHAM 2,618,897

DOLL EYE SUPPORT Filed Aug. 6, 1948 INVENTOR. GEORGE E. CANHAM.

BY 4'1 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 25, 1952 DOLL EYE SUPPORT George E. Canham, West Orange, N. J., assignor to Margon Corporation, Bayonne, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 6, 1948, Serial N 0. 42,795

Claims. (01. 46-469) This invention relates to dolls, and more particularly to movable eye mechanism therefor.

A conventional doll eye mechanism comprises a pair of eyes mounted on an eye shaft oscillatably carried by a support having bearings for the eye shaft, and having means, such as tanged plates or arms, adapted to be embedded in the material of a doll head in order to secure the support in the head. The bearings for the eye shaft are usually slotted, and are provided with resilient means normally urging the shaft forwardly in the slots, thereby keeping the eyes in frictional engagement with mating eye openings in the head. The shaft is provided with a weighted arm which gravitationally moves the eyes to closed or sleeping position when the doll is changed from an erect position to a reclining position.

The doll eyes and supports are ordinarily made by one manufacturer, and sold by him to a doll manufacturer for installation in doll heads. Often some of the doll heads prove to be defective after the eyes have been installed therein. This may be due to cracking or other blemish in the paint, etc. In such case the doll manufacturer usually removes the eye mechanism from the discarded head, and returns the said mechanism to the eye manufacturer for credit, the competitive situation being such that the eye manufacturer ordinarily replaces the same free, While the eyes, shaft and weight, commonly called the eyeset, are re-useable, the support is not, the eye manufacturer must perform a special operation to open up the support sufficiently to remove the eyeset therefrom. He must then add the eyeset to a new support and ship the combined eyeset and support back to the doll manufacturer.

The primary object of the present invention is to reduce the loss thus occasioned to the eye manufacturer, and more specifically, to facilitate the removal of an eyeset from, or the addition of an eyeset to the support when the support is out of the doll head. Moreover, with the present invention the eye manfacturer can ship to the doll manufacturer a supply of extra supports, to a percentage determined by experience. The doll manufacturer, after ripping eyesets and supports from heads found to be defective, may himself readily remove the eyesets from the already used supports, and add the same to the extra new supports, thus avoiding the expense and trouble of packaging and shipment back to the eye manufacturer, and in the case of the latter, avoiding the labor of making the changeover, and the expense of packaging and shipment back to the doll manufacturer.

In accordance with another feature of my invention, the design of the support is such as to make it impossible for the eyeset to escape from the support when the eyeset is mounted in the doll head. This is important because dolls are subjected to surprisingly rough treatment by children at play. In fact, buyers for department stores and chain stores frequently throw a doll forcibly against the wall or floor to see whether the eyes will remain in position and in operative condition.

It Was previously mentioned that a suitable spring urges the eyes frictionally against the eye openings. The tension of the spring is somewhat critical, for on the one hand the eyes must fit closely in the eye openings without visible space therebetween, and on the other hand the friction must not be excessive, for otherwise the eyes will stick instead of opening or closing freely, the motivating force being only the gravitational force exerted on a comparatively light weight. For this reason supports are made with springs of different tension. This matter of spring tension is another reason for return of eyes by the doll manufacturer to the eye manufacturer, with corresponding loss to the latter. The doll manufacturer may order eyes'with one degree of tension, and then find after mounting some in his particular type of doll head that the tension is unsatisfactory, and he may thereupon return a large shipment of eyes to the eye manufacturer with a request that they be changed to provide a different spring tension. Accordingly a further object of the present invention is to facilitate the necessary change, and to minimize the loss occasioned thereby. The ease of removing an eyeset from one support and inserting it in another is important for this reason alone.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the doll head, eye, and support elements, and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by a drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the forward portion of a doll head, said section beingtaken through one eye, approximately in the plane of the line i-! of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken across the doll head, approximately in the plane of the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an eyeset and support, but with one eye removed to better show the support;

Figs. i, 5 and 6 are fragmentary sections taken longitudinally of the support and showing successive steps in the addition of an eyeset to the support;

Fig. 7 illustrates a leaf spring forming a of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through said spring, taken in the plane of the line ll3 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical section similar to Fig. 1, but explanatory of a feature of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, I there show a doll head I2 having spherically surfaced eye sockets it, with a pair of mating spherically surfaced eyes I6. (By spherically surfaced I mean that the working parts of the surface conform to a part of the surface of a sphere.) The eyes are carried by an eye shaft l5 which extends diametrically through the eyes, and which in turn is carried by a rigid metal support secured in the head. This support includes slotted bearings for the shaft, best shown at 22 in Fig. 3, the said bearings being open upwardly at their rear ends, as shown at 26,, to receive or to release the shaft l8. In accordance with one feature of the invention, the openings 2% are disposed near enough to the front wall of the head so that the eye cannot escape from the socket, and consequently the shaft cannot escape from the bearings. More specifically, the openings 2d are disposed rearwardly of the normal position of the shaft an amount less than the amount that the eyes project into the sockets, so that the shaft cannot escape from the bearings while the eyes, shaft and support are mounted in the head. This is shown in Fig. 9, in which the shaft it has been moved rearwardly and upwardly, but it will be noted that any continued upward movement of the eyeset is arrested because the top wall of the eye opening it bears against the eye members l6. Thus the eyeset is positively retained in the bearings when the support is mounted in the head, but the eyeset is removable from the bearings when the support is not mounted in a head.

The support is provided with resilient means, here exemplified by a leaf spring as, which bears against the back of the shaft 58 in order to urge the shaft forward in the slotted bearings 22, and thereby to hold the eyes frictionally in the eye sockets Hi. In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the leaf spring 22 has 2. lug 28 which overlies the shaft 58 in such a position as to inhibit removal of the shaft from the support. The direction of the retainer lug 223 such as not to appreciably interfere with addition of the eyeset to the support, this done as indicated by the successive positions shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 of the drawing. It is merely necessary to press the shaft against the spring, and to then pull the shaft into the hook-shaped bearings. The shaft will not thereafter accidentally fall out of the support. This is a convenient and desirable feature in order to keep the eyeset and support together during packing, shipment and handling by the eye manufacturer and the doll manufacturer. It is also convenient part . to keep the eyeset and support safely together or tool, and to thereafter guide the shaft out of the bearing between the retainer lug 28 and the upper wall of the bearing slots. It is also possible to intentionally remove the eyeset even without a tool, by purposefully pushing the shaft against the lug 28 hard enough to bend or convex the spring upwardly so far that the lug and shaft move beyond the bearings. This does not spoil the spring, which is very flexible.

Now considering the eye mechanism in greater detail, the particular eyeset here shown comprises approximately hemispherical hollow eye shells, the inner walls of which are pierced to receive the cross rod it. The eye shells are caused to turn with the cross red by means of keys 3i; which are pressed on the cross rod with a force fit, and the upper and lower ends of which bear against registering surfaces 3.2 on the eye shells. The shells here shown are fitted with eye lashes, the base strips of which are visible at 3 in Fig. 2. The eyelid portion of the shells above the eye lashes is flesh colored, thereby simulating sleep when the eyes are turned by means of the weight 35, the latter being carried at the lower end of a weight arm 33, the upper end of which is secured, as by means of spot welding, to the eye shaft iii. The forward part of the eye shell is arranged to simulate the black pupil, colored 'sis, and white eyeball of an eye. In general the eyeset per so may be conventional, and forms no unique part of the present invention. The main essential is that the eyeset be of a type in which the eyes are carried by an eye shaft the center portion of which shaft is clear to be received in the bearings of an eye support.

The eye support here illustrated is an upright channel-shaped piece of heavy gauge sheet metal. The sides 9 at the upper end of the support act as forwardly extending arms having inwardly directed tangs d2, best shown in Fig. 3. The arms es are initially divergent, but in mounting the eye mechanism in the doll head these arms are forcibly squeezed together, thereby embedding the tangs in the sides of an upright web or rib ti l molded behind and integrally with the forehead portion of the doll head. The side walls it at the lower portion of the channel-shaped support are shaped as previously described to form the slotted bearings 22. Intermediate the arms 63 and the bearings 15 the side walls G8 are narrower, but act to stifien and rigidify the support. Moreover, the sloping edges 5i} prevent removal of the shaft from the slotted bearings unless the shaft is capable of forward movement, and this, of course, is prevented when the support and eyeset are mounted in the doll head, thus retaining the eyeset against escape, as was previously described in connection with Fig. 9 of the drawing.

The leaf spring 25 is disposed in the channel of the support. Its upper end is locked in the support, and for this purpose a pair of tiny tabs or tongues are preferably struck from the spring in opposite directions, as is shown at 52 and 54 in Figs. '7 and. 8. The back wall of the support is incised, and the middle slightly displaced, as shown at 56 in Fig. l, in order to receive the spring, and the tabs 52 and 52 help lock the spring in desired position.

To determine the tension of the spring, it is convenient to provide a spring tensioning lug or tab '53, best shown in Fig. 4. This is struck inwardly, and determines the angle at which the upper portion of the spring is disposed. By striking the tab 58 further inwardly the spring tension is increased, and vice versa. The supports may be made in a number of different models which are alike except for having different positions of the tab 58. In fact, if it became important to do so in order to avoid com plete waste of an already made up supply of supports, the position of the tab could be modifled even after manufacture of the support. However, in normal contemplated manufacturing procedure the supports are made in different models, and one important advantage of the present invention is the ability to readily remove eyesets from one set of supports in which the spring tension is found to have been incorrectly chosen, and to readily apply the eyesets to a different set of supports of correct spring tension.

At its lower end the leaf spring is preferably bifurcated to form fingers 60 which are disposed behind the eye shaft and normally urge the eye shaft forwardly. A portion of the intermediate metal is struck forwardly to form the shaft retaining lug 28 previously referred to.

It is believed that the construction, operation, method of assembly, and method of disassembly of my improved doll eye mechanism, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, changes may be made in the structure shown, without departing from the spirit of the invention as sought to be defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a doll head having eye sockets and having an upright rib inside the forehead, a pair of eyes received well into said sockets, an eye shaft connecting said eyes, an upright channel-shaped support for the shaft, the sides of said support at the upper end of said support acting as forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs embedded into the aforesaid rib, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shaped hearing ears providing slotted bearings which are open transversely of the slots near the rear ends of the slots, said openings to said bearings being spaced rearwardly of the normal position of the eye shaft when the eyes are in the sockets but not rearwardly far enough relative to the amount the eyes project into the sockets to permit escape of the shaft from the bearings while the eyes, shaft and support are in the head at the sockets, and a spring bearing against the eye shaft to urge the same yieldably forward in the slotted bearings and thereby hold the eyes in frictional engagement with the eye sockets.

2. In combination, a doll head having spherically surfaced eye sockets and having an upright rib inside the forehead, a pair of mating spherically surfaced eyes, an eye shaft extending diametrically of said eyes, an upright channel-shaped support for the shaft, the sides of said support at the'upper end of said support acting as forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs embedded into the aforesaid rib, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shaped bearing ears providing slotted bearings which are open transversely of the slots near the rear ends of the slots, said openings to said bearings being spaced rearwardly of the normal position of the shaft by an amount less than the amount the eyes pro ject into the sockets, whereby the shaft cannot escape from the bearings while the eyes, shaft and support are in the head, and a spring bearing against the eye shaft to urge the same yieldably forward in the slotted bearings and thereby hold the eyes in frictional engagement with the eye sockets, said support having a tensioning lug bent against the spring an amount which determines the pressure of the spring against the shaft.

3. In combination, a doll head having eye sockets and having an upright rib inside the forehead, a pair of eyes, an eye shaft connecting said eyes, an upright channel-shaped support for the shaft, the sides of said support at the upper end of said support acting as forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs embedded into the aforesaid rib, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hookshaped bearing ears providing slotted bearings which are open upwardly transversely of'the slots near the rear ends of the slots, a generally upright spring, the upper end of which is fixedly secured in the channel, and the lower end of which bears against the eye shaft to urge'the same yieldably forward in the slotted bearings and thereby hold the eyes in frictional engagement with the eye sockets, the lower end of said spring having a retainer lug above the shaft, the arrangement being such that the eyes and shaft can be added to the support when out of the head, and can be intentionally removed from the support when out of the head, but will not accidentally separate from the support when in or out of the head.

4. In combination, a doll head having spherically surfaced eye sockets and having an upright rib inside the forehead, a pair of mating spherically surfaced eyes, an eye shaft extending diametrically of said eyes, an upright channelshaped support for the shaft, the sides of said support at the upper end of said support acting as forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs embedded into the aforesaid rib, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shaped bearing ears providing slotted bearings which are'open upwardly transversely of the slots near the rear ends of the slots, a generally upright leaf spring, the upper end of which is fixedly secured in the channel, and the lower end of which bears against the eye shaft to urge the same yieldably forward in the slotted bearings and thereby hold the eyes in frictional engagement with the eye sockets, the lower end of said spring having a retainer lug struck forwardly therefrom above the shaft, the arrangement being such that the eyes and shaft can be added to the support when out of the head, and can be intentionally removed from the support when out of the head, but will not accidentally separate from the support when in or out of the head, said support having a tensioning lug bent forwardly against the leaf spring an amount which determines the pressure of the spring against the shaft.

5. In combination, a doll head having eye sockets and having an upright rib inside the forehead, a pair of eyes, an eye shaft connecting said eyes, an upright channel-shaped support for the shaft, the sides of said support at the upper end of said support acting as forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs embedded into the aforesaid rib, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shaped bearing ears providing slotted bearings which are 7 open upwardly transversely-of the slots nearithe rear ends of the slots, said openings to said bearings being spaced rearwardlyof the normal position of the eye shaft but not rearwardly far enough to permit escape of the shaft from the bearings while the eyes, shaft and support are in the heads. generally upright spring, the upper end of which is fixedly secured in the channel, and the lower end of which bears against the eye shaft to urge the same yieldacly forward in the slotted bearings and thereby hold th eyes in frictional engagement with the eye sockets, the lower end 'of said spring having a retainer lug above the shaft, the arrangementbeing such that the eyes and shaft can be added to the support when out of thelhead, and can be intentionally removed from the support when out of the head, but will not accidentally separate from the support when out of the head, and cannot be separated from the-support when in the head.

6. In combination, a doll head having spherically surfaced eye sockets and having anupright rib inside the forehead, a pair of mating spherically surfaced eyes, an eye shaft extending diametrically of said eyes, an upright channelshaped support for the shaft, the sides of said support at the upper end of said support acting as forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs embedded into the aforesaid rio, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shaped bearing ears providing slotted bearings which are open upwardly transversely of the slots near the rearends of the slots,

said openings to said bearings being spaced rearwardly of the normal position of the shaft by an amount less than the amount the eyes project into the sockets, whereby the shaft cannot escape from the bearings while the eyes, shaft and support are in the head, a generally upright leaf spring, the upper end of which is fixedly secured in the channel, and the lower end of which bears against the eye shaft to urge the same yieldably forward in the slotted bearings and thereby hold the eyes in frictional engagement with the eye sockets, the lower end of said spring having a retainer lug struck forwardly therefrom above the shaft, the arrangement being such that the eyes and shaft can be added to the support when out of the head, and can be intentionally removed from the support when out of the head,

but Will not accidentally separate from the support when in the head, said support having a tensioning lug bent forwardly against the leaf spring an' amount which determines the pressure of the spring against the shaft.

7. A rigid metal support for oscillatably sup porting the shaft of a pair of doll eyes, said support having means adapted to be secured in the material of a doll head, and said support includ ing approximately horizontally slotted bearings for'the shaft, said slotted bearings being open in upward direction at the rear ends of the slots to receive or to release the shaft, a leaf having one end fixed to said support and having its othervend movable at the bearings in such a position as to bear against the back of the shaft to yieldingly urge the shaft forward said leai spring having a lug projecting forwardly and downwardly therefrom to form a hook or trap in such aposition as to overlie the shaft and to inhibit removal of the shaft from the hearings, but not altogether preventing intentional removal of the shaft from the bearings when the eyes, shaft and support are not in a doll head.

8. A rigid metal support for oscillatably supporting the shaft of a pair of doll eyes for use in a doll head of specific shape and dimension having eye sockets of specific depth andlocation in the front wall of the head, said support having means adapted 'to be secured in the material of said doll head, and said support including approximately horizontally slotted bearings'for the shaft, said slotted bearings being openin'upward direction at the rear ends of 'theslots to receive or to release the shaft, said openings being disposed rearwardly of the normal position of the shaft an amount less than the amount the :eyes will project into the eye'sockets of said doll head, a spring having one end fixed to said support and having its other end movable at the bearings in such a position as to bear against the back of the shaft to yieidingly urge the shaft forward, said spring having a lug projecting forwardly and downwardly therefrom to form a hook or trap in such a position as to overlie the shaft and to inhibit removal of the shaft fromhthe bearings, but not altogether preventing intentional removal of the shaft from the bearings when the eyes, shaft and support are not in a doll head.

9. An upright channel-shaped support for oscillatably supporting the shaft of a pair of doll eyes for use in a doll head of specific shape and dimension having eye sockets or specific depth and location in the front wall of the head, the sides of said support at its upperend acting as forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs adapted to be embedded in the material of said doll head, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shaped searing ears providing approximately horizontally slotted bearings which are open upwardlynear the rear ends of the'slots, said openings to said bearings being spaced rearwardly of the forward ends of the slots by an amount less than the amount the eyes will project into the eye sockets of said doll head, a generally upright spring disposed in said channel-shaped support, the upper end of said spring oeing fixedly secured in the support, and the lower end being movablein-such a position as to bear against an eye-shaftin the hearings to urge said shaft forward.

10. An upright channel-shaped support for oscillatably supporting the shaft of a pair of doll eyes for use in a doll head of specificsh-ape and dimension having eye sockets of specific depth and. locationin the front wall of the head, the sides .of said support at its upper end actingas forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs adapted to be embedded in the material of said doll head, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shapedpbearing ears providing approximately horizontally slotted bearings which are open upwardly near the rear ends of the slots, said openings to said .bearings being spaced rearwardly of the forward endsof the slots by an amount less than the amount the eyes will project into the eyesocketsof said doll head, a generally upright spring disposed in said channel-shaped support, the upper end of said spring being fixedly secured in the support,

and the lower end being movable in such'a position as to bear against eye shaft in the bearings to urge said shaftforward, said support having a tensioning iughent forwardly against the an amount whi h determines the pressure of the spring against .a shaft in said bearings.

11. An upright channel-shaped supportfor oscillatably supporting the shaft of a pair of doll eyes, the sides of said support at its upper end acting as forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs adapted to be embedded in the material of a'doll head, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shaped bearing ears providing approximately horizontally slotted bearings which are open upwardly near the rear ends of the slots, a generally upright leaf spring disposed in said channel-shaped support, the upper end of said leaf spring being fixedly secured in the support, and the lower end being movable in such a position as to bear against an eye shaft in the bearings to urge said shaft forward, the lower end of said spring also having a retainer lug struck forwardly therefrom in such a position as to lie above a shaft in th bearings, the arrangement being such that the eyes and shaft can be added to the support and can be intentionally removed from the support but will not accidentally separate from the support when out of the head.

12. An upright channel-shaped support for oscillatably supporting the shaft of a pair of doll eyes, the sides of said support at its upper end acting as forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs adapted to be embedded in the material of a doll head, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shaped bearing ears providing approximately horizontally slotted bearings which are open upwardly near the rear ends of the slots, a generally upright leaf spring disposed in said channel-shaped support, the upper end of said leaf spring being fixedly secured in the support, and the lower end being movable in such a position as to bear against an eye shaft in the bearings to urge said shaft forward, the lower end of said spring also having a retainer lug struck forwardly therefrom in such a position as to lie above a shaft in the bearings, the arrangement being such that the eyes and shaft can be added to the support and can be intentionally removed from the support but will not accidentally separate from the support when out of the head, said support having a tensioning lug bent forwardly against the leaf spring an amount which determines the pressure of the spring against a shaft in said bearings.

13. An upright channel-shaped support for oscillatably supporting the shaft of a pair of doll eyes for use in a doll head of specific shape and dimension having eye sockets of specific depth and location in the front wall of the head, the sides of said support at its upper end acting as forwardly extending arms with inwardly directed tangs adapted to be embedded in the material of said doll head, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shaped bearing ears providing approximately horizontally slotted bearings which are open upwardly near the rear ends of the slots, said openings to said bearings being spaced rearwardly of the forward ends of the slots by an amount less than the amount the eyes will project into the eye sockets of said doll head, a generally upright spring disposed in said channel-shaped support, the upper end of said spring being fixedly secured in the support, and the lower end being movable in such a position as to bear against an eye shaft in the bearings to urge said shaft forward, the lower end of said spring also having a retainer lug extending forwardly therefrom in such a position as to lie above a shaft in the bearings, the arrangement being such that the eyes and shaft can be added to the support and can be intentionally removed from the support but will not accidentally separate from the support when out of the head, and cannot b separated from the support when in the head.

14. An upright channel-shaped support for oscillatably supporting the shaft of a pair of doll eyes for use in a doll head of specific shape and dimension having eye sockets of specific depth and location in the front wall of the head, the sides of said support at its upper end acting as forwardly xtending arms with inwardly directed tangs adapted to be embedded in the material of said doll head, the lower portion of said support having forwardly extending hook-shaped bearing ears providing approximately horizon tally slotted bearings which are open upwardly near the rear ends of the slots, said openings to said bearings being spaced rearwardly of the forward ends of the slots by an amount less than the amount the eyes will project into the eye sockets of said doll head, a generally upright spring disposed in said channel-shaped support, the upper end of said spring being fixedly secured in the support, and the lower end being movable in such a position as to bear against an eye shaft in the bearings to urge said shaft forward, the lower end of said spring also having a retainer lug extending forwardly therefrom in such a position as to lie above a shaft in the bearings, the arrangement being such that the eyes and shaft can be added to the support and can be intentionally removed from the support but will not accidentally separate from the support when out of the head, and cannot be separated from the support when in the head, said support having a tensioning lug bent forwardly against th spring an amount which determines the pressure of the spring against a shaft in said bearings.

15. In combination, a doll head having eye sockets, a pair of mating eyes received well into said sockets, an eye shaft connecting said eyes, a rigid support secured directly to said head, said support having slotted bearings for the shaft integrally formed therewith, said bearings extending in a direction generally tranverse to the front wall of the head, said bearings each being provided with an opening to permit passage of the shaft therethrough in a direction generally parallel to the front wall of the head, but said openings being disposed so near the front wall of the head when the eyes are in the sockets that the eyes cannot escape from the sockets, and consequently the shaft cannot escape from the bearings while th eyes, shaft and support are in the head, a spring mounted movable detent means located on the side of the shaft on which the bearings are open for inhibiting unintentional removal but permitting intentional removal of the shaft from the bearings by manual manipulation when the yes, shaft and support are not in the head, and resilient means connected to said support bearing against the shaft in order to yieldingly urge the shaft forward in the slotted bearings.

16. In combination, a doll head having spherically surfaced eye sockets, a pair of mating spherically surfaced eyes received well into said sockets, an ey shaft extending diametrically of said eyes, a rigid metal support having tangs embedded in the material of the head, said support having slotted bearings for the shaft integrally formed therewith, said bearings extending in a direction generally transverse to the front wall of the head, said bearings each being provided with an opening to permit passage of the shaft therethrough in a direction generally parallel to the front wall of te head, but said openings being disposed rearwardly of the normal position of the shaft an amount less than the amount the eyes project into the sockets, whereby the shaft cannot escape from the bearings while the eyes, shaft and support are in the head, a spring mounted movable detent'means located on the side of the shaft on which the bearings are open for inhibiting unintentional removal but permitting intentional removal of theshaft from the bearings by manual manipulation when the eyes, shaft and support are not in the head, and resilient means connected to said support bearing against the shaft in order to yieldingly urge the shaft forward in the slotted bearings.

'17. In combination, a doll head having eye sockets, a pair of mating eyes, an eye shaft connecting said eyes, a rigid support secured in said head, said support including slotted bearings for the shaft, said bearings extending in a direction generally transverse to the front Wall of the head,

said bearings each being provided with an opening'to' permit passage of the shaft therethrough in a direction generally parallel to the front wall of the head, resilient means bearing against the shaft in order to yieldingly urge the shaft forward in the slotted bearings, said means having a lug sloping toward the shaft in such direction as to form a hook or trap overlying the shaft on the sideon which the bearings are open irrsuch aposition as to inhibit removal of the shaft from the bearings, but not altogether preventing intentional removal of the shaft from the bearings when the eyes, shaft and support are removed from the head.

18. In combination, a doll head having spherically surfaced eye' sockets, a pair of mating spherically surfaced eyes, an eye shaft extending diametrically of said eyes, a rigid metal support having tangs embedded in the material of the head, said support including slotted bearings for the shaft, said bearings extending in a direction generally transverse to the front wall of the head, said bearings each being provided with an opening to permit passage of the shaft therethrough inaclirection generally parallel to the front wall of the head, a leaf spring having one end fixed to said support and having its other end bearing l against the shaft inorder to yieldingly urge the shaft forward in the slotted bearings and thereby holding the eyes frictionally in the eye sockets, and said leaf spring having a lug sloping toward the shaft in such direction as to form a hook or trap overlying the shaft on the side on which thebearings are open in such a position as to inhibit removal of the shaft from the bearings, but not altogether preventing intentional removal of the shaft from the bearings, when the eyes, shaft and support are removed from the head.

19. In combination,. a doll head having eye sockets, a pair of matingeyes received well into said sockets, an eye shaft connecting said eyes, a rigid support secured in said head, said support including slotted bearings for the shaft, said bearings extending in a direction generally transverse to the front Wall of the head, said bearings each being provided with an opening to permit passage of the shaft therethrough in a direction generally parallel to the front wall of the head, but said openings being disposed so near the front wall of'the head when the eyes are in the sockets that the eyes cannot escape from the sockets, and consequently the shaft cannot escape from the bearings while the eyes, shaftand support are in the head, yet can be removed from the bearings'when the eyes,'shaft and support are not in the head, resilient means bearing against the shaft in order to yieldingly urge the shaft forward in the slotted bearings and thereby holding the eyes frictionally in the eye sockets, said resilient means having a lug sloping toward the shaft in such'direction as to form a hook or' trap overlying the shaft on the side on which the bearings are'open in such a position as to itself inhibit removal of the shaft from the bearings, but not altogether preventing intentional removal of the shaft from the bearings when the eyes, shaft and support are removed from the head.

20. In combination; a doll head having spherically surfaced 'eyesockets, a pair of mating spherically surfaced eyes received well into said sockets, an eye shaft extending-diametrically of said eyes, a rigid metal support having tangs embedded in the material of the head, said support including slotted bearings for the shaft,- said bearings extending in a direction generally transverse tothe front wall of the head, said bearings each being provided with an opening to permit passage-of the shaft therethrough'in a direction generally; parallel to the front Wall of the head, but said-openings being disposed rearwardly of the normal positionof the "shaft-an amount less than-the-amou-nt the eyes project into the sockets, whereby the-shaft cannot-escape from the bearings-while the eyes-shaft and support are in the head, yet can beremoved fromthe bearings when the eyes, shaft and support are notin the head, a-leaf spring having'one end fixed to said support and having its other end bearing against the shaft in order to yieldingly urge 'theshaft forward in the slotted bearings and thereby holding the eyes frictionally-in the eye sockets, and said leaf spring having 9. lug overlying the shaft on the side on which the bearings are open in such a position as to itself inhibitremoval of the shaft from the bearings, but not altogether preventing intentional removal of the shaft from the bearings when the eyes, shaft and support are removed from the head.

GEORGE E. CANHAM.

REFERENCES crrsn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,521,279 Cohn Dec. 30, 1924 1,798,154 Grubman Mar. 31, 1931 1,954,320 Kalner et al. Apr. 10, 1934 1,990,345 Paganello Feb. 5, 1935 2,159,293 Schaeffer May 23, 1939 2,378,787 Paganello June 19, 1945 

